Floor scrubbing machine



1960 E. J. DICKSON 2,950,494-

noon scaussmc MACHINE Filed June 4, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Inventor EDWARD J. DIG/(SON A V y At'ys.

0, 1960 E. J. DICKSON 2,950,494

FLOOR SCRUBBING MACHINE Filed June 4, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Inventor EDWARD J. DIG/(SON nite States FLOOR SCRUBBING MACHINE Edward J. Dickson, 11 Douglas Crescent, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Filed June 4, 1956, Ser. No. 589,061

3 Claims. (Cl. 1550) This invention relates to a mechanical scrubbing machine for floors and the like.

Mechanical scrubbing machines for floors are reasonably common. They invariably have a power driven rotatably mounted brush that engages with and scrubs the floor, and that is followed by a squeegee adapted to gather up the free water left by the brush. Means are, of course, provided for depositing water on the floor in advance of the brush, and suction means are provided for drawing the Water from the floor as it is gathered by the squeegee. The whole is moved along the floor on a suitable carriage. In such machines the gathering action of the squeegee is dependent upon the forward motion of the machine,

A common fault with mechanical scrubbing machines of the prior art has been that when the squeegee that gathers up the water passes over an uneven part of the floor the squeegee spans this uneven part and the water being carried by the squeegee tends to run through the space between the squeegee and the floor thus leaving a line or puddle of water behind the machine. This water is often dirty and therefore undesirable.

I have invented a mechanical scrubbing machine that has an improved operation over those of the prior art in the above respects and, in general, is a very efiicient machine.

With my scrubbing machine a brush and a squeegee are each carried in a ringlike path. Means are provided for dropping clean scrubbing water in advance of the brush and means are provided for lifting the water gathered by the squeegee. My invention will be clearly understood after reference to the following detailed specification read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a floor scrubbing machine according to my invention;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the brush carrier and the post to which it is connetced for rotation within the carriage.

Figure 3 is a sectional view through the brush frame and carriage illustrating the manner in which the brush carrier is rotatably mounted within the carriage and Figure 4 is a view illustrating the disposition of the brushes and the squeegees.

The floor scrubbing machine illustrated in the drawings is mounted on a four wheel carriage generally indicated by the numeral which has a handle generally indicated by the numeral 11 for steering it. The handle 11 has been broken off in order to save drafting space, but its general form will be appreciated by those skilled in the art. A gasoline motor generally indicated by the numeral 12 is provided for propelling the carriage 10 along the floor and for operating the brushes as will be described 'later. The controls (not shown) for the motor 12 are conveniently mounted in an easily accessible place such as the top of the handle 11. The control of the driving motor is a feature capable of great variation and its atent arrangement is well within the competence of a person skilled in the art.

Three similar scrubbing brushes each generally indicated by the numeral 13 are rotatably mounted, as at 14, for rotation about their own axis of rotation in bearings carried by the arms 15 of the brush carrying member.

The brush carrying member comprises three arms 15 which radiate from a hub 16 and it is mounted for rotation within the carriage 10, whereby in use, as will be explained more fully later, the brushes 13, which are carried thereby, are caused to describe a circular or ring-like path and to rotate. v

The rotatable mounting of the brush carrying member is perhaps best understood from Figure 3 of the drawings, wherein it will be noted that the hub of the brush carrying member is rigidly secured to the lower end of the sleeve 17 by means of a pin 18 and a nut 19. Sleeve 17 is in turn rotatably mounted within the flanged sleeve 20 which is supported by the deck 21 of the carriage 10. Numerals 22 and 23 refer to the mounting bearings which mount and permit rotation of the sleeve 17 within the sleeve 20.

The sleeve 20 is formed as shown with a flange at its upper end, that is formed with a series of evenly spaced apart holes that extend therearound to receive the shanks of the bolts 24. Mounting bolts 24 are adapted to mount both the sleeve 20 and the sun gear 25 (to be referred to later) with respect to the deck 21 of the carriage 10. Sun gear 25 has a hub formed with a series of holes similarly spaced apart to the holes in the series formed in the flange of the sleeve 20 and likewise adapted to receive the shanks of the bolts 24. The mounting assembly is best illustrated in Figure 3 wherein it will be noted that the bolts 24 pass through the holes in the hub of the sun gear 25, through a coil spring 26, through a hole in the deck 21, through an upper coil spring 27, and through the holes in the flange of the sleeve 20. They are retained in position by means of nuts on their free ends. Springs 26 are in compression between the sun gear and the undersurface of the deck 21 and springs 27 are in compression between the undersurface of the flange on the sleeve 20 and the upper surface of the deck 21. It will be noted that the opening in the deck 21 through which the supporting sleeve 20 depends, is large enough to permit a reasonable clearance between the sleeve 20 and the edges thereof, whereby the brush carrying member that is rigidly mounted on the free end of the supported sleeve 17, is resiliently mounted with respect to the deck 21 of the carriage 10. It will also be apparent that by tightening or loosening the nuts on the free end of the shanks of the mounting bolts 24 that the pressure of the brushes 13 carried in the arms 15 of the brush carrying member on the floor can be varied.

A squeegee is provided to follow each of the scrubbing brushes 13 as it moves over the floor in use.

In the embodiment of the invention shown the squeegees are carried by a squeegee mounting member that is mounted on the brush carrier member in a manner that makes it possible to adjust the relative height of the squeegees and the brushes with respect to the floor.

The squeegee blades are not necessarily similar in shape, and therefore I will give each squeegee blade a separate number. The diiferences between the. blades is best illustrated in Figure 4 wherein they are referred to by the numbers 28, 29, and 30. The squeegee mounting member in which these blades are mounted comprises three concentric rings 31, 32 and 33, joined by spokes 34.

The squeegee blades each have a customary floor engaging edge and are secured in the marginal area of their opposite edge toa curved strip of metal 35.

The metal strip 35 is secured at spaced apart points vance of the rotating scrubbing brushes 13.

'on the arms 15 of the brush carrying member.

' clusive.

a I 3 along its extent to the outer' ring 31 of the squeegee mounting member, by means of the small metal straps as at 36.

The squeegee mounting member is mounted on the brush carrying member by'means of bolts 37 and compression springs 38. Each of the arms 15 of the brush carrying member has a cross arm 39 adjacent its free end, and the outer ring 31 of the squeegee carrying member has a plurality of L-shaped brackets 40 each formed wit-h a hole adapted to align with a 'hole in each end of the cross arm 39. The bolts 37 pass through the 'aligned holes in the ends of the cross arms 39 and the brackets 40 and the springs 38 are compressed between the two members asbest seen in Figure 3. A nut, of

course, is threaded onto the free end of the shank of the bolt 37 to retain the assembly in position. It will be apparent that by tightening or loosening the nuts on the bolts 37 that the relative height of the brush and the squeegee with respect to the floor can be varied. This adjustment is useful as the brushes and the squeegees wear'in an uneven manner.

It will be noted that each of the brushes 13 has a gear on its shaft as at 41 which is rigidly secured thereto and which engages with the sun gear 25 that depends from the deck 21 of the carriage 10. It will be apparent that the brushes 13 will rotate about their axis of rotation as the brush carrier carries them in a circular path due to the engagement of the planet gears 41 and the rigid sun gear 25.

The machine also embodies a means for depositing Water or some other cleaning fluid on the floor in ad- In this connection, Water is stored in a suitable container, indicated in chain lines by the numeral 42 and resting on the top of the carriage, from which it flows through a conduit 43 to the circular water trough 44 which rests The arms 34 of the squeegee mounting member are adapted to be in advance of the scrubbing brushes 13 and conduits 4'5 clipped to the arms or spokes 34 extend from the trough 44 to a point in advance of each of the brushes. Water, controlled by a suitable valve in the conduit 43,

'flows from the pail 42 into the trough 44; and from the trough 44 through the conduits 45 onto the floor in advance of the rotating scrubbing brushes 13. The entire flow is a gravity flow.

. In operation the sleeve 17 is caused to be rotated Within its mounting within the flanged sleeve 20 to carry the brush carrying member on the lower end there of in a circular path above the floor. As it does this, the scrubbing brushes 13 are caused to rotate about their axis of rotation due to the interaction of the planet gears 41 and the rigidly mounted sun gear 25. The rotating 7 brushes travelling in a circular path engage the floor and scrub it as scrubbing or cleaning water is deposited in advance of each brush by the conduits 45.

The squeegee blades 28, 29 and 30 Which follow the rotating brushes, gather up the water, and a suction tube 46 is provided adjacent the inner end of the squeegee 30 to lift the water gathered by the squeegees from the floor. Suction tube'46 connects with pump 47 in a manner to be described later, to effect this lifting of the water from the floor and deposit it in the dirty water pail 48 shown in chain lines and resting on the top of the carriage 10. V

The operation of the squeegees and suction tube 46 in gathering up and removing the water or other cleaning fluid from the floor is as .follows: Water left behind rotating scrubbing brushes 13 as they are carried in a be observed, extends closer to the centre of rotation of the brush carrier than squeegee 28. r

Squeegee 29 gathers up water left in the wake of its related scrubbing brush in a similar manner to the squeegee 28, and the water so picked up together with the water that has flowed around the inner free end of squeegee 28, is carried towards the inner end of squeegee 29 due to its curvature as the brush carrier rotates. The Water flows around the inner end of squeegee 29 and is picked up by the hooked free end of the squeegee 30, which as will be apparent from Figure 4, extends closer towards the centre of rotation of the brush carriage than the inner free end of squeegee 29. The water so picked up by the squeegee 30 together with the Water gathered from the rotating scrubbing brush 13'that is associated therewith is sucked up from the floor by means of the pump 47 through the suction tube 46 and conducted to the dirty water pail 48.

It will be noted that such tube 46 connects with suction conduit 49 that extends upwardly through sleeve 17 to connect at its upper end with a rigidly mounted air-and- Water-tight slip fitting 50. The suction tube 46 is rigidly mounted on ring 32 of the squeegee carrier and it together with tube 49 rotates therewith. Airtight fitting 50 communicates through a hose 58a to the suction sideof the pump 47. The pressure side of pump 47 connects through a suitable conduit 51b and empties into the dirty water 48.

All power for rotating the various members to be rotated and for operating the pump is taken from the power take-01f 51 of the motor 12. The pump 47 is operated on the V-belt 52 that is driven directly from the power takeoff 51. V-belt 52 also engages with a pulley 53 of the input of a gear reduction until generally indicated by the numeral 55. The output of gear reduction unit 55 appears at pulley 56 from which power is transferred by pulley 57 to the rear wheels of the carriage 10 to drive it. A suitable clutch is employed to control the application of power to the rear wheels.

Pulley 57 on the same shaft as pulley 53 "drives the input of a second gear speed reduction unit 58 through the belt 58a, the output of which is taken from the sprocket 59 to drive sprocket 60 through the chain 61. Sprocket 60 is rigidly mounted to the upper end of the rotatably mounted sleeve 17 which carries the brush carrying member. It will be apparent that rotation of the sprocket 60 V will cause the brush carrying member to rotate as previously described. It will be noted that the second gear reduction 58 is mounted on a plate 61a that is resiliently supported at one end on the deck 21 of the carriage 10 by means of bolts and coil springs in compression as illustrated. The other end of the plate 61 is supported on the flange of the resiliently mounted sleeve member 20.

While my machine is normally propelled along the floor as it scrubs, it is possible with the machine to scrub while the machine isin a stationary position, since a scrubbing is effected by :the rotation of the brush carrier within the carriage. v

The scrubbing brushes are resiliently supported in the carriage to rest on the floor with the required scrubbing pressure which is a matter of adjustment and skill in the art and eflected by the nuts of bolts 24.

Relative adjustments between the brushes and their .squeegees to cause the rubber blades of the squeegees to follow their respective brushes with desired floor Wiping pressure can be effected by adjustment of the bolts 37. It will be noted that there is a flex in the rubber blades of the squeegees at their floor engaging edges and adjustment may be necessary to keep this flex at the required amount as the squeegee wears with use. I

The actual speed of rotation of the scrubbing brushes is a matter of skill in the art and will depend to some extent upon the size of the brush used. I have used a nine inch brush in a machine similar to the one illustrated in the drawings'and provided for its rotation about its own axis of rotation within its mounting in the brush carrying member at a speed of about 400 rpm. The brush carrying member is rotated at a speed of about 35 rpm. The factor to be considered is the action of centrifugal force. As speed is increased, there is a tendency for the brushes to throw Water outwardly of the machine Whereas it is desired to cause it to work towards the centre thereof under the action of the squeegees.

Embodiments of the invention other than the ones disclosed, will of course be apparent to those skilled in the art. I do not intend that my invention should be restricted in scope to the specific embodiment that I have described.

I claim:

1. A scrubbing machine comprising a carriage adapted to be moved over a floor, a scrubbing brush, means rotatably mounted in said carriage for carrying said scrubbing brush in a ringlike path, said scrubbing brush being rotatably mounted in said latter mentioned means about its own axis of rotation, a squeegee carried by said means for carrying said brush and adapted to follow said brush as it moves in said ringlike path, means for rotating said brush about its own axis of rotation, said squeegee being formed to gather water from said floor.

2. In a floor scrubbing machine adapted to be moved over a floor, a frame, a plurality of scrubbing brushes, each having a scrubbing plane adapted to engage with a floor or the like, each mounted for rotation about an axis of rotation at substantially a right angle to the scrubbing plane of its respective brush, means for carrying each of said brushes relative to said frame in a ringlike path with its scrubbing plane in engagement with a floor or the like, a squeegee for each of said brushes, means for mounting each of said squeegees to follow its respective brush as the latter moves in its ringlike path, means for rotating each of said brushes about its own axis of rotation, said squeegees being formed to gather Water, means for lifting water gathered by said squeegees from said floor, means for dropping cleaning fluid on the floor for engagement by said brushes, and

means for adjusting the relative height of said squeegee and said brush with respect to the floor.

3. In a floor scrubbing machine adapted to be moved over a floor, a frame, a plurality of scrubbing brushes, each having a scrubbing plane adapted to engage with a floor or the like, each mounted for rotation about an axis of rotation at right angles to the scrubbing plane of its respective brush, means for carrying each of said brushes relative to said frame in a ringlike path, with its scrubbing plane in engagement with a floor or the like, a squeegee for each of said brushes, means for mounting each of said squeegees to follow its respective brush as the latter moves in its ringlike path, means for rotating each of said brushes about its own axis of rotation, said squeegees being formed to gather water to carry it towards but not to the center of the area defined by the ringlike path described by said means for carrying said brushes, said squeegees forming a series taken in order in the direction that said brushes are carried in a ringlike path in use such that beginning With the first squeegee in said series, each squeegee extends closer to the center of the area defined by the ringlike path than its preceding squeegee whereby the water gathered by all of said squeegees is collected by the one of said series that extends closest to the center of the area defined by said ringlike path and in which means are provided adjacent said squeegee that extends closest to the area defined by said ringlike path for lifting water gathered by said squeegees.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,142,933 Bickford Jan. 3, 1939 2,317,843 Backlund Apr. 27, 1943 2,624,896 Atkin Jan. 13, 1953 2,633,595 Berberian Apr. 7, 1953 2,689,368 Finnell Sept. 21, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS 160,940 Australia \Apr. 17, 1953 

